Log in and vote to win a $1,000 community grant to host 5 neighborhood “Party in Public” events in the metro.

Here’s Karis’s application intro:

HOW WOULD YOU CULTIVATE A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY YOU’D LIKE TO SERVE?

For the past few years, the community of Fargo-Moorhead, pop. 200,000, has invested its civic ethos and energies to protect our two cities against spring flooding from the Red River. Then, as spring turns to summer, civic life fades as people retreat each weekend to private lake cabins. Recently, one of Fargo’s City Commissioners introduced the idea of developing publicly-owned river front property into a community gathering space – a civic plaza (or beach?) for recreation and interaction in the public realm. We’re interested. And we’d like to explore how space in the public sphere might build our common life, and hear what our diverse neighbors think about spending time together along the river (minus the sandbags). Instead of developing plans for this public gathering space in back room strategy sessions or public meetings involving just a handful of citizens, we propose to party in public, inspiring conversation and collective vision through a series of 5 public parties.

HOW WOULD YOU USE THE $1,000 TO TURN YOUR IDEA INTO A REALITY?

We’re looking forward to tapping the creativity and hospitality of our community to design this series of parties open to the public and hosted by diverse party planners.

Thus far, we’ve generated ideas like transforming a city parking lot into an outdoor party venue, hosting a Kurdish-style barbecue and cruising the S.S. Ruby, a pontoon piloted by River Keepers, a local river advocacy organization.

We would invest the $1,000 towards 5 not-to-be-missed opportunities to party in public, translating $200 worth of food, drinks and supplies for each party into new connections, conversations and vision for building and sustaining our common life.

About Mike Williams

Name: Mike Williams
Location: Fargo, North Dakota
Website: http://www.electwilliams.com
Occupation:
Risk Manager Family Mutual Insurance
Fargo City Commissioner since 2004, re-elected in 2008 and 2012
About Me:
I'm a pragmatic optimist that's grateful for all the wonderful people in my life